The APTERR Secretariat led by Dr. Choomjet Karnjanakesorn, General Manager of the APTERR Secretariat paid a courtesy call on H.E. Mr. Nagesh Singh, Ambassador of India to Thailand, at the Embassy of India in Bangkok on 18 February 2026.
Dr. Arvind Chandrashekhar Betigeri, Food Fortification Advisor from the Asia Pacific Regional Office of the World Food Programme (WFP), also joined the meeting in support of APTERR’s ongoing collaboration efforts.
During the meeting, Dr. Choomjet provided an overview of APTERR’s key activities while Dr. Arvind highlighted the cooperation between APTERR and WFP on rice fortification under APTERR’s Tier 3 programme, currently being implemented as a pilot project in Lao PDR to enhance food security and nutrition for emergency response. Ambassador Singh acknowledged the crucial role of APTERR in strengthening regional food security among ASEAN Plus Three countries. He also reiterated the longstanding and fruitful cooperations between India and the ASEAN Plus Three countries in various areas, including agricultural development and disaster response programmes.
The strong relationship between India and ASEAN Plus Three countries contributed to a looking-forward discussion, underscoring the potential for enhanced collaboration among India, APTERR, and WFP to accelerate the achievement of food security. All parties reaffirmed their readiness to work closely together to further strengthen partnerships.